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EQAs and ISO17043:2010 accreditation

GenQA is constantly implementing new EQAs in response to advances in genomic testing. These new EQAs are initially proposed in the pilot phase. You will find their complete list at www.genqa.org/eqa

 

EQAs and ISO17043:2010 accreditation

The EQAs offered by GenQA are designed to meet the requirements of the international standard ISO17043:2010. This approach ensures the delivery of high-quality EQA across all genomic tests. For GenQA and UK NEQAS, carrying out an EQA is much more than just an administrative exercise for laboratories to achieve accreditation. 

 

This recommendation only applies to non-GenQA accredited EQAs

ISO17043:2010 accreditation applies to specific EQAs and the samples and methodologies on which they are based. EEQs are generally implemented in the following order:

The time to achieve full ISO17043:2010 accreditation for a specific EQA will be quite long as GenQA must adhere to a "scope expansion" process required by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS). from the United Kingdom).

 

While ideally all EQAs would be fully accredited to ISO17043:2010, this is not always possible as new EQAs are constantly being implemented and developed.   All GenQA EQAs are treated the same whether or not they fall within the scope of ISO17043:2010 accreditation. This means that they are subject to the same quality management system as accredited EQAs and are  carried out  by the same highly qualified staff, using established working practices, in the same way as accredited EQAs during the implementation phase.  

 

As part of any collaboration with a service provider, the laboratory is required to carry out a risk assessment linked to the services provided. When assessing the risks associated with your EQA provider, it is not enough to check that the provider holds ISO17043:2010 accreditation [ISO standard for conformity assessment – ​​general requirements for capability testing; all members of UK NEQAS are accredited to this standard]. It is important to ask yourself other questions during this exercise, including:

 

As always, if you have any questions about GenQA, whether about accreditation, EQA design, or any other topic, please contact us at info@genqa.org.

To learn more about GenQA accreditation and its scope, please visit  www.genqa.org/accreditation.